Project Makes Progress

CENTRAL FLORIDA - The Area - In Brief - LAKE

GROVELAND -- Work is set to move forward on a $150 million project on the edge of the city limits.

With approvals in hand, contractor Dan Hessburg is planning to build a mixed-use project called Bella Fonte on the site of a former sand mine on the eastern edge of the city.

Think Celebration, Winter Park Village or other similar Central Florida developments. That's what Hessburg is trying to pull off with the project that means "beautiful fountain."

Situated on State Road 50 at Groveland's city limits, Bella Fonte would be a 440-acre community that would incorporate architecture reminiscent of Europe.

The centerpiece is the old E.R. Jahna sand mine, which features 250 acres of clear blue water. By the time Hessburg's Arlington LLC group is finished redeveloping the mine in 2007, it is planned to feature:

146 single-family homes ranging from $250,000 to $1 million-plus.

320 zero-lot-line homes and "flats" starting at $150,000.

250,000 square feet of commercial space serving as the gateway to 40-plus acres of peninsula that juts out into the heart of the lake.

City officials estimate Bella Fonte will generate an annual tax base of about $800,000, plus a "one-time shot in the arm of $1.3 million" in impact fees.